President Board of Aldermen Megan Green and John Mills From FEMA Discuss Funds Available For Tornado Victims

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hertfeat Saint Louis with J the tja aka fig Holiday
bringing you the faults of the city.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Hey, what's up, dish boy? Doctor? Is BJ the DJ Holiday?

Speaker 3 (00:15):
And of course we know that on May sixteen, one
of the biggest disasters hit our city and a lot
of people are still recovering from it. And so today
I wanted to bring some good news. You know, sometimes
people need some good news. And I say it that
way because I'm excited, because I know a lot of

(00:35):
people were thinking about the Female Assistance and the deadline
was this Monday, but it has been extended until August
twenty six and I did find out there are some
things that the city of Saint Louis is going to
be doing as well. So to make sure that you
get the facts you don't get, you know, just people

(00:55):
out there on social media, you're talking about.

Speaker 2 (00:57):
Hey, ain't doing this. It blah blah.

Speaker 3 (01:00):
Blab lab lablablah, and they did this, and they telling
you the things that are not true. We wanted to
make sure we bring you the facts. So in the
studio I had the president of Border Altamen Megan Green,
and also mister John Mills from FEMA, and so I'm
gonna ask them some questions just to make sure we

(01:24):
get the facts and make sure that you know exactly
where you can get some help.

Speaker 2 (01:28):
Both of you all.

Speaker 3 (01:28):
Thank you so much for coming in and having this discussion.
I appreciate it.

Speaker 4 (01:32):
Thank you for having us SWEETI sure much. We need
to take every opportunity to be out in the community
talking about all these deadlines, all the programs that are
available to folks, so we make sure that everybody applies
and gets the aid that they need.

Speaker 3 (01:45):
Right, So let's start with the FEMA side. Now, I'm sorry, John,
I always hear the word FEMA, but I have no.

Speaker 2 (01:53):
Clue of what that stand for. I know that there's
some letters you just here. You know, FMA, FEMA, So
what does A stand for.

Speaker 5 (02:03):
It stands for Federal Emergency Management Agency. And thanks a
lot for inviting me on. So FEMA can help people
who've had direct damage from the May sixteenth tornadoes and
storms to their primary residence for losses affecting the habitability
of their home and damage to their essential personal property
that's not covered by insurance.

Speaker 3 (02:23):
Okay, there's not COVID by insurance, but this is not
a replacement for insurance.

Speaker 2 (02:28):
Is that correct.

Speaker 5 (02:29):
That's right. FEMA's not a replacement for insurance. So we
do encourage people to maintain insurance, whether they're a homeowner
or renter, if they can afford it. If not, and
you're hit by a disaster and it's declared by the
President after being requested by the governor, FEMA may be
able to provide some money to give you a hand
up to help you with some basic home repairs, money

(02:50):
to help you pay for a temporary place to live,
and money to help replace some essential personal property that
was destroyed. But it's not intended to rebuild an entire house.
To help you get started with your recovery.

Speaker 3 (03:02):
Yeah, because a lot of people, you know that's been affected,
they expect, you know, FEMA to come in and bring
all this money. They expect the city to do all
it is. But there's only so much you guys are
going to do. Now, Now, what about people who've been displaced?
You know, like I left out of my home, I

(03:23):
can't go back to it, and I'm staying with a
relative because you know, you hear about when they move
to a hotel or something like that, and there's assistance
for that.

Speaker 2 (03:33):
What about people who go to a relative house.

Speaker 5 (03:36):
And we work really closely with the State of Missouri
Emergency Management SEMA, and also with the City of Saint
Louis in this case because of all the money that
we've been able to approve about thirty two million dollars
so far, but ninety seven percent of that is going
to the City of Saint Louis residence here directly. So

(03:56):
we want to continue to hear from people about what
their needs are. If you are displaced from your home
or if you're living in a situation that's just not
safe and you're still staying in your damage dwelling, you
can contact FEMA. Let FEMA know that if you are
not covered for insurance for that, FEMA may be able
to provide money directly to you. If you're displaced, you

(04:19):
can ask FEMA for money to help you with rent.
So if you do receive rental assistance, we may be
able to provide you with two months of rental assistance
to help you get started. Please hold onto your receipts.
Really do spend that money on rent if you get it,
and then if you're still displaced because your home is destroyed,
it's just the repairs aren't done yet. You can stay
in touch with FEMA and potentially get approved for several

(04:41):
more months of rental assistance until you can determine your
next steps or get back home.

Speaker 3 (04:46):
Okay, Well, President Green, I'm sure I've been hearing a
lot of stuff about, you know, the city, and there's
been a lot of things that you guys have been
working on for people that were affected by this disaster.
Can you talk about some of the things that the
City of Saint Louis is doing.

Speaker 4 (05:06):
Sure, the Board of Aldermen had a number of special
meetings over the two months after the tornado to make
sure we could get aid moving quickly out to folks
in the community. So one of the things we did
is we approved thirty million dollars in Ram's interest money.
So the thirty million, what is what was generated from

(05:27):
that two hundred and fifty million that's been sitting in
a in a bank account. We were able to get
that out the door in just this Monday. Applications were
released for through the United Way to nonprofit organizations that
have been down doing the work every day. We know
that within you know, hours of the tornado. We were

(05:48):
lucky to have a lot of grassroots organizations that were uh,
you know, places like the Urban League and Action Saint
Louis and for the Culture, who are all you know,
mobilized very quickly. And we also know a lot of
those organizations have been going into their reserves in order
to keep their operations going, and we want to make

(06:08):
sure that we can support them. So that application opened
up on Monday to be able to help reimburse some
of these organizations but also provide them some ongoing funding
so they can continue their community outreach. Part of that
is also some home repair funds which has gone to
CDA but will be disseminated out to Mission Saint Louis,

(06:30):
who runs our home repair network for the city, and
that will again be some resources that can get directly
out to residents to help them in rebuilding. Because we know,
you know, we have kind of a layered approach here.
FEMA will provide some resources. We know that the state
government approved one hundred million dollars and we're still waiting

(06:51):
to see what that looks like. And then the City
of Saint Louis came out with an initial thirty million
dollars and so all of these programs have to sup
lament to each other. We cannot duplicate what FEMA does,
but we can provide assistance to help that aid go
farther to fill gaps that maybe are still left over

(07:12):
after those FEMA funds are dispersed.

Speaker 3 (07:14):
Okay, So I know I'm more of a realist. You know,
people hear thirty million, they hear one hundred million, and
they feel like, oh, I'm gonna get this big old check.
But please understand that this money has to be divided
amongst everybody that has been affected and depending now, is

(07:35):
it based on the level of your damage?

Speaker 2 (07:39):
How is disseminated? You know what I mean?

Speaker 3 (07:42):
Like this person may have three hundred thousand dollars worth
of damage, this person may have ten thousand dollars or
do everybody get the same?

Speaker 2 (07:50):
How does that work?

Speaker 4 (07:52):
It's really on a case by case basis. And you know,
from the city's point of view, we're looking at how
can we fill those gaps that are still left over
after you know, FEMA funds and state funds and corporate
money and philanthropic money, so that we could get folks
as close to whole as possible. And the goal is

(08:13):
that all these different funding streams can work together to
help get people there.

Speaker 5 (08:17):
And I'll just to add to that, I think that's
exactly right. FEMA, likewise, if you have losses not covered
by insurance, is committed to working with every household on
a case by case basis. If you think of it
this way, everybody went through the May sixteenth tornado, but
everyone's exact situation is unique. You have different financial needs,

(08:38):
different family sizes, different levels of damage. So after you
apply with FEMA, for example, and you don't have insurance coverage,
or you provide your insurance information to us, FEMA will
send a home inspector to meet with you at your
home to verify the damage that you've reported, and so
based on that, the information is sent back to FEMA
and a letter is sent to you explaining what you're

(09:01):
eligible to receive and what the purpose for that money is.
All the variety of categories such as home repairs, paying
for a temporary place to live, replacing essential personal property,
and other needs not covered by insurance.

Speaker 3 (09:14):
Okay, now the big question is I know, you know
this all sounds great, this is beautiful, but people are
listening and they're going, hey, I don't know where to
go to put in application. I don't know how to
do it. I'm trying to figure this out. I've been
hearing all this so when we talk about the city

(09:37):
of Saint Louis, where do they go to apply?

Speaker 4 (09:42):
So we have a number of disaster recovery centers that
FEMA has stood up. The Urban League Entrepreneurship Center is
open Monday to through Friday from eight am to seven
pm and Saturdays from nine to four. That's at four
to four zero one Natural Bridge Avenue, and that's been
our busiest location so far. Union Tabernacle is open Monday

(10:07):
to Friday from eight am to seven pm. That's at
six twenty six North Newstead. We've had one other site
at Souldan that is is closing down because school starts,
and you know, we gotta we got to make sure
that building is able to be used for the kids
that go there. But you know, that is a place

(10:28):
to start. On top of that, we have phone bankers
who have been calling to try to get in contact
with everybody that was impacted by the storm to help
walk them through an application or answer questions if they
need help. There's been canvassers out through Action Saint Louis.
I know they're going out again this weekend again, you know,

(10:49):
try to make sure that everybody you know first puts
in their application. That is the That is the first thing.
And you must get that FEMA application in by August
twenty six. It doesn't have to be finished with all
of your claims and everything by the twenty six, but
you have to have that application in uh and then

(11:10):
you know, the various folks that we have from FEMA
and from the city and our volunteers can help people
continue through that process. But I think the one thing
to remember is stay in touch. It's not as simple
as just filling out an application and being done with it.
After that, like John said, FEMA's gonna follow up with

(11:32):
a home inspection. You have to have that inspection, So
answer the phone even if you don't know the number.
I know a lot of us don't answer the phone
if we don't know the number. But you need to
answer the phone so that you can be talking to folks.
You can get those inspections scheduled, and you can can
really take advantage of all the different aid buckets that

(11:53):
can be available to you.

Speaker 3 (11:55):
Okay, and apparently I think FEMA information is about the
same with the disaster centers and centers that they can
go to Jesus.

Speaker 5 (12:05):
That's right. So this week, still two disaster recovery centers
open in the city of Saint Louis. The Urban League
location as mentioned forty four oh one Natural Bridge right
at the corner of Natural Bridge in North Newstead, that's
been the busiest location. And then Union Tabernacle Missionary Baptist
Church that's at the corner of Newstead and Delmar. So

(12:26):
the Urban League location will still be open Monday through
Friday eight to seven and Saturday nine to four. Union
Tabernacle is now only going to be open Monday through
Friday from eight to seven. So those two locations we
don't have a closing dat announce yet, but I still
would encourage please take advantage of those locations while they
are open. You'll get to sit down one on one

(12:46):
with a specialist from FEMA. So you may be one
of the seven thousand households that's already received money, but
you may want someone to walk through your file with you.
Why did I receive this money? What am I supposed
to spend it on? Can I get more money? And
so we would encourage people to visit one of these
disaster recovery centers, in particular if they have very heavy

(13:08):
damage to their primary residence and need some help recovering
if they don't have insurance. For example, you can ask
FEMA for assistance with rent if you're displaced or living
in an unsafe situation. You can also bring in a
contractor estimate to say, hey, the roof blew off. FEMA
gave me some money, but here's what the contractor says

(13:29):
it's going to cost. You can provide that documentation and
FEMA will work with you on a case by case
basis to see if you can be approved for more
money potentially. When you do that, be sure to provide
the name of the contractor and contact information so we
can confirm that documentation that you're providing.

Speaker 3 (13:45):
Okay, I have a question because I have to ask this.
I know we're talking about going to the centers and
all that, but we have seniors, you know, and our seniors,
I know some of them don't have cause some of them,
you know, can't walk to the places. So is there

(14:06):
anything put in place for seniors to be able to
get their applications in?

Speaker 5 (14:11):
There is? I'll go ahead and start out. You can
apply online at Disastrosystems dot gov, so that's Disastro Assistance
dot gov. That's also how you can upload documents directly
to your file, so you don't have to visit a
location to do that. Now, if you're have someone in
your family who's older, or if you're older yourself and
you don't feel comfortable with Disastro Assistance dot Gov, I

(14:33):
would suggest talking with a trusted family member who you
can who can help you through that, or a trusted friend,
or a community organization like a senior center that's already
providing assistance like that. For individuals. You can also call
FEMA directly, so if you have a question, you can
call FEMA at one eight hundred sixty two one three
three six y two, so it's one eight hundred six'

(14:55):
two one three three six. Two you will get to
talk to a real. Person depending on how busy the
call center, is you may need to wait a little.
Bit so if you do have a disaster recovery center near,
YOU i would take advantage of that one on, one
face to face in person. Assistance of, course not everybody has,
transportation so there is some assistance the city is providing
with rides Via uber and those can be. Booked but

(15:19):
that's WHAT i would.

Speaker 2 (15:20):
Suggest, oh so the city is helping peopot With uber and.

Speaker 4 (15:24):
Stuff we, Are and so if you need a free
ride to the recovery, center then you can call three
one four two nine nine two one eight. Nine that's
three one four two nine nine two one eight, nine
and we will help you get the transportation that you
need to the recovery. Center so we know it's often

(15:46):
easier to troubleshoot a lot of these things if you're
in person talking to. Somebody i've had folks come to
my office who got denied when they initially submitted their,
applications and then once they were able to go to
a disaster recovery, center they figured out what the issue.

Speaker 2 (16:02):
Was you.

Speaker 4 (16:02):
Know sometimes it was that they had insurance and they
needed to apply to their insurance company before they filled
out that THAT fema. Application other times it was just
they didn't have some of the documentation that they needed
and they didn't understand. That and so being able to
talk person a person with somebody who can walk you

(16:22):
through this and make sure that you are getting every
piece of aid that you qualify for really is an
important piece of.

Speaker 2 (16:29):
This all, Right so.

Speaker 3 (16:32):
Anyone that's listening to this and you've ben affected by the,
tornado please make sure that you go to one of
the disaster recovery centers that are Around Saint, louis and
make sure that you go to you, know the, websites
the phone, numbers because help is here and a lot
of times people just put things out on social, media

(16:55):
SO i wanted to make sure that you had the.
Facts if you guys can give me phone numbers website
that they can go to.

Speaker 2 (17:03):
Disaster relief.

Speaker 3 (17:04):
Centers once, again if you guys can do that for,
Me i'd appreciate.

Speaker 4 (17:08):
It, definitely we can definitely do. That i'll repeat the
number for rides one more, time and that's three one
four two nine nine two one eight. Seven that's the
number to call if you need a ride over to
any of our disaster recovery centers.

Speaker 5 (17:24):
And just the locations one more. Time appreciate helping get
the word. Out and by the, way even if you're
not directly, affected you can really potentially help somebody. Out
let them know that two disaster recovery centers are still
open in the city Of Saint. Louis and even if
you're not directly, affected you may be making a big
difference in somebody's. Life we've already had more than six
thousand visits at these recovery. Centers so the one location

(17:46):
is The Urban League entrepreneurship And Women's Business. Center it's
the Old Commerce bank at the corner Of Natural bridge
and News. Staid that's Open monday Through friday eight to,
Seven saturday nine to, four and believe it or, Not
saturday is really that, busy so take advantage of it On.
Saturday and then the other disaster recovery, Center Union Tabernacle
Missionary Baptist church at the corner Of newstead And. Delmar

(18:09):
That's monday Through, friday eight am until seven. Pm you
can visit any, location regardless of what part of the
city you live.

Speaker 3 (18:17):
In alrighty, Well President bord To, Aldoman Meghan, green thank
you so, much And John mills FROM, Fema thank you
guys so much for coming in with all this wonderful.
INFORMATION i really appreciate.

Speaker 5 (18:30):
It thank you.

Speaker 1 (18:30):
You this has been another edition Of Heartbeat. St louis
with bj THE dj AKA Bg holiday bringing you the
pulse of the.

Speaker 2 (18:41):
City